Tuesday

More wired Chinese tuning into Amateur Radio

BEIJING (Reuters Life!) - When it comes to high-tech, China has it all. But in the country with the most Internet users in the world, some are choosing to stay in touch through an older device: the radio.

Armed with antennas, transmitters and receivers, a growing number of Chinese amateur radio operators, or radio hams, send out encoded messages and simple broadcasts in the hope of getting a response.

Of the world's three million amateur radio operators, up to 90,000 are in China, according to the Chinese Radio Sports Association which oversees licensing for hobbyists in the world's most populous country.

The number has been steadily growing in recent years, the association said, despite mobile phones and the Internet becoming commonplace in nearly all the country.